


The Sons of the Dark One

by Mozart_the_Meerkitten



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Angst, Brothers, Crossover, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hogwarts, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Protective Siblings, Sibling Relationship, Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25797901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozart_the_Meerkitten/pseuds/Mozart_the_Meerkitten
Summary: A chance meeting in London intertwines the lives of young Baelfire and Sirius Black and drastically changes both their fates.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 17





	1. The Shadow Road from Neverland

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea was born several years ago and came of my cousin and I looking at pictures of Rumplestiltskin and Neal from Once Upon a Time alongside pictures of Sirius Black. We discovered that they looked surprisingly similar and started to wonder... what if Sirius Black was really Rumplestiltskin's long lost son? What if he met young Baelfire as a child? What if the brothers (who didn't know they were brothers) adopted each other? Shenanigans ensued and this story (along with several others) came into being.
> 
> Some notes: The first part was written by my cousin and I probably 3-4 years ago now. Originally it had a different ending where the boys part ways but I have modified it so that they stay together. My cousin wrote Sirius' parts and I wrote Baelfire's and we both wrote the description bits.  
> I spontaneously started writing this AU in full after rewatching the first Harry Potter movie. I have not proofread this or had it beta read so I've probably made some mistakes. Rating may change and characters may be added.  
> At the start of the story Baelfire is 15 (give or take a few hundred years) and Sirius is 9.

“Walburga -” came the soft but uncomfortably heavy tone - like velvet coating an iron pipe - of Mr. Orion Black. “They are ready for us.”

“One moment,” his wife demurred. “Regulus, you’ll be alright won’t you?”

“Yes mum.” The spare, large-eyed boy tucked neatly into his equally spare and large-cushioned seat nodded. He self-consciously brushed a curl out of his eyes and turned his gaze to the floor.

“Sirius,” Walburga cautioned, “You have behaved yourself very well today. See that you continue to do so. We may be gone for some time - do _not_ become impatient. Orion’s work cannot be set aside to alleviate your restlessness.”

The taller of the two boys stared at his mother balefully.

“Sirius?”

“Yes’m.” His expression did not change.

Walburga knitted her brow and turned away.

“Yes ma’am,” he called after her as she stepped through the wall into the magical section of Child’s Hill in the city of London.

Sirius scuffed his shoes on the floor.

“Don’t,” his little brother admonished. “Mum says -”

“Reg, hush.” Sirius wriggled in his seat to look out onto the muggle streets of Child’s Hill, separated by the transparent barrier which for wizards marked off the lobby to Child’s Hill proper. To muggles, of course, it didn’t mark off anything.

Outside, yelling could be heard, and a young boy came into view, pursued by several muggle police officers. The boy, not quite watching where he was going, abruptly slammed into the door of the room and tumbled inside. Quickly, he ducked down below the windows and peeked through them. The muggle police looked confused and had stopped running. They spread out along the road, walking right past the building without even checking inside. Once they had passed, the boy sat up and stared out the window for a few more moments, then turned to examine his new surroundings. 

“ _Blimey_ ,” exclaimed Sirius. “That was a sharp trick. You get into trouble with the muggle police?”

“ _Sirius -”_ Regulus hissed.

“I-I suppose you could say that.” Panted the boy, “No matter when I come here nobody ever seems to appreciate that I have to survive. It’s not like I meant to- but I suppose that doesn’t matter now.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the cops hadn’t returned, then turned back to the two boys, “Where have I ended up this time, then?”

“Bit far from home judging by that accent you got going,” observed Sirius. “You from the States?”  
“The…. states?” The boy blinked, “I’m not from… I don’t know where that is. I’m from a land very far away from here though.” 

Sirius nodded. “Don’t worry, Reg here thought the States were part of Madagascar for a lot longer than he’ll ever own up to.”

Regulus gave his brother a look like hot coals. “You _shouldn’t_ talk to strangers, Sirius. Mum says it’s _beneath_ us.”

“You go around parroting Mum _any more_ and I’ll turn you into one,” Sirius warned.

“Can’t!” shot Regulus.

“Could! _Accidental_ magic.”

“Magic?” Interrupted the boy, “I thought-” his brow furrowed, “Where are we? What city?”

“London, ‘s in England,” Sirius informed him. “Not many wizards and witches where you live?”

A little color drained from the boy’s face and he took a deep breath to compose himself, “Just my papa.” He told them.

Sirius’ eyes widened, then closed his mouth abruptly. “That’s too bad,” he said in a much lower voice. “I’m sorry about your mum. Is she nice, though?”

“She….” the boy looked down, “She died when I was younger. Sometimes she was nice.”

A frown worked down from Sirius’ eyebrows to his tight-lipped mouth. “That’s really awful. I’m really sorry - what’s your name?”

The boy looked back up at him, “Baelfire. What’s yours?”

“Sirius,” said the smaller boy. “An’ I mentioned this one’s Regulus. He won’t talk to you ‘cos mum says we’re not to speak to - people like you.”

Bae turned his head to one side, “I see. People do that where I come from too- don’t talk to each other if they’re different.” He glanced down at his ragged clothes and smiled a bit, “Not that I look like much at the moment. But my papa taught me always to be polite to people, no matter who they were.”

Sirius considered this for a moment. “ _I_ don’t care what people look like - or anything, if they’re any fun. I wish my dad was like yours.”

Bae stared at the floor, “You might not think so if you met him now.” He said quietly, “But he used to be good.” He managed a little smile.

Sirius watched his new friend wistfully. “You can at least remember him being good. I think my dad has always been bad.”

Regulus tapped his brother, white-faced, but Sirius tapped him back and raised an eyebrow, and the younger boy settled into his seat in despair.

“I’m not sure that anybody’s always been bad.” Said Bae thoughtfully, “But I’m sorry about your papa. It’s hard when they aren’t…. Good.” almost unconsciously he turned and glanced out the window.

“Is your papa out there?” asked Sirius.

“No.” Bae sounded sadder than he had the whole conversation, “No, he’s not.”

Sirius opened his mouth, and closed it again. “Those muggles won’t come looking here again. The magic wards them off.”

Bae nodded, “I should probably sneak off while they’re not around. Not that I have any idea where I’m going.”

“There’s an ice cream place four streets that way,” Sirius pointed. “I’ve never been, but the sign said free for under-age today. If you can find it, bet you they’ll let you in.”

Bae looked in the direction Sirius pointed and nodded, “Thank you. I’ll… I’ll look into that....er- what is ice cream, exactly?”

Sirius looked very grave. “Ice cream is a lot of frozen-up milk with good bits in. It tastes like what snow ought to, only doesn’t.”

Bae looked curious, “Well, that means it’s food….” He shrugged, “Thank you.” He smiled at the younger boy.

“Any time, Baelfire,” nodded Sirius with keen eyes, still wistful, trained on the mysterious older boy. “Good luck finding what you’re looking for.”

“Good luck with your papa.” Replied Bae, “And thank you again. If I can ever do anything for you- if I ever met you again- then I’ll try to do it. But, until then, goodbye.” He turned and leaned against the door, then waved back at the other boy.

Sirius waved furiously. “Goodbye!” he said.

Bae smiled, and pushed the door open. After a moment, he had disappeared into the London streets.

“Goodbye,” murmured Sirius at the road full of strangers, and empty of Baelfire.

Regulus burst into tears.

“Reg! Don’t cry… why’d you do that?” asked Sirius.

“I want Mum to take us home,” mumbled Regulus. “I don’t want to be lost like that boy.”

Sirius tilted his head. “I don’t think he was lost. He’s not lost now.”

****

Sirius studied the cracks in the ceiling and twisted the sheets into a tighter knot around his hand. If he got out of bed the charms set on his room would tell Kreacher, and the grim, wobbly-nosed House Elf would trundle up the stairs and get him into more trouble. Mother was right, he’d been very good today. Or at least he’d thought so. 

She apparently no longer agreed.

He found the wandering thread of cracks that was his favorite, and had the most obvious pattern. Someone else might not have thought so, but to him it looked like the face of a dog - a nice dog, he thought, with big ears. The other cracks mostly looked like spiders or little mountain ranges. Full of giants, he supposed. Some of them probably mean ones.

The last light on the row of houses Sirius could see from his window dimmed and fizzled out. He sat up and leaned against the bedpost to get a view of the rest of the street, but didn’t find any more lights. He sighed and retreated to bury his head under the pillow.

A lilting tune began to quietly hum in the air and turned into the eerie, enticing song of a flute fluttering on the wind outside. At the same time something black as a starless night flitted through the rooms downstairs, whispering along on an unfelt wind.

Sirius stiffened, and peered at his bedroom from under the pillow. The music danced along the edge of his hearing, and for a second it seemed to fade - without thinking of it he threw off the sheets and dashed to the window.

The music came a little clearer now, and he strained his ears to catch the source, hand pressed against the window. Something clattered downstairs, followed by wheezy grumbling.

Sirius whipped around. The moans faded with the pattering of small, heavy feet into another part of the house. He released a breath, but frowned. Kreacher must have found something else to antagonize. Hopefully not another gnome hiding from the neighborhood cats. However, Kreacher was unlikely to forget about Sirius altogether no matter what he was up to now. The melody waxed and abruptly waned again, and for a moment Sirius feared it might stop altogether. If he wasn’t going back to bed, he decided he had better act now.

The boy tried the latch on the window, and it wouldn’t give - closed with magic as usual. And perhaps, as usual, susceptible to hairpins. Sirius grinned and shoved a hand into the gap between his mattress and the bedframe, fumbled for a moment and clutched his tool. He dashed back to the window and set his teeth, eyeing the latch. “There’s a word for this,” he muttered to himself. Then he steadied himself on the window frame and inserted his hairpin into the rather traditional lock that one would normally reserve for doors. “Ha! Irony,” Sirius exclaimed under his breath. Mr. and Mrs. Black had, of course, commissioned this lock expressly to prevent Sirius from putting to work conventional methods of escape. So much for their efforts.

The frame snicked into the unlocked position, and Sirius dutifully returned his hairpin before edging the window open by degrees, until with only a slight grumble it gave him leave to lean out into the night air.

The music was clearer and louder outside, the haunting melody floating past on the wind, buoyed by it, rather than muffled. It rose and fell gently, but the tune stayed the same, the hollow whistling noise not offering comfort, but calling nonetheless.

Sirius grinned at the muddy, starless sky and the dormant square below. The real difficulty came next - the best part if you liked a good heist.

He pulled himself back inside, and studied the window for a moment. Then he shook his head and, wincing, closed the lower pane so he could get at the smaller one above it. This he pushed as low as he could (although it squeaked from disuse) so that there was a decent opening at the very top of the window frame. He took a deep breath, strained his ears for any hint of Kreacher coming upstairs, and climbed onto the ornate windowsill. He twisted around and hauled himself onto the slim ledge outside, and gripping the window with white knuckles, considered his chances of reaching the flat roof a few feet above him.

They didn’t look terribly good. Neither, however, did his chances of getting any sleep if he didn’t try. The music still summoned him, if anything more than ever. 

He set his teeth, braced himself and pushed off the frame with one foot to lunge for the metal edge of the roof.  
Without warning, a shadowy creature swooped down over the roof and grabbed the boy’s wrist, yanking him away from the wall and into the sky.

Sirius yelped and clutched at the shadow - no sense in kicking at it lest it drop him. He swallowed several times and violently suppressed the urge to scream, then caught a glimpse of his captor’s glowing purple eyes and screamed anyway.

Suddenly there was a yell from the street below, and a familiar young voice shouted up into the night.  
“Hey! Hey, I’m down here! Come and get me, will you?” Baelfire waved his arms wildly to attract the creature’s attention.  
The shadow caught sight of the second boy and swooped down. As it flew close, Bae ducked out of the way of its reaching hand and grabbed hold of Sirius, wrapping an arm around the younger boy and pulling tightly. There was a thump as the boys tumbled to the ground and the Shadow flew up into the sky.  
Bae scrambled to his feet and pulled Sirius up, “We have to get out of here, it’ll come back.”  
“Was that - was that a Lethifold?” Sirius managed, breathing hard.  
Bae took his hand and began tugging him towards an alleyway, “No. That was a Shadow. It belongs to a very bad person. If it had had it’s way it would have taken you to Neverland, which is an awful place full of lost and unloved boys and ruled by a tyrant.”  
Sirius blinked a few times. “Is it an orphanage?” he whispered, glancing along both streets for Muggles and hastening to keep up with the other boy.  
“It’s far worse than that.” Bae told him, “It’s… it’s a terrible place to live. There are no grown-ups, no one to look after you, and at night you can’t sleep because of the bad dreams and the longing to be home. If you’re lucky and the fellow in charge likes you then you’ll be armed and allowed at least some freedom. If not, then you’re locked up, and you can only escape if….” Bae stopped in the alleyway and looked up, checking the skies for the Shadow, “It’s looking for me.” He said quietly.  
Sirius watched his friend’s face, barely visible in the flickering light of the single, distant street lamp, and something came over him. “How long did you live there?” he asked softly.  
Bae looked down, “You don’t age in Neverland.” He said, his voice not much more than a whisper, “You stay whatever age you are when you go there forever. I was there for….” He thought a moment, “Over a hundred years. Maybe… maybe closer to two hundred. I’m not sure, it’s a little hard to tell there.”

Sirius choked on a gasp. “That’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard,” he breathed. He pulled his friend aside under the shadow of a balcony and gripped his shoulders with firm though quivering hands. “I won’t let it get you. Not while you’re with me. You can’t go back, you mustn’t.”   
Baelfire stared at him strangely. “I don’t know what you could do to help.”  
“We could- we could run away! Maybe we could find your papa,” said Sirius.  
Bae shook his head sadly. “You can’t help me find my papa- he’s… he’s not just in another country, he’s in another _land_ , a land very far away from here. And he doesn’t want me.”  
“Well, then we’ll run! I could help you hide!” Sirius gazed at him with a wide, earnest expression.  
Bae swallowed hard. “It won’t stop looking for me. You wouldn’t be safe. I can’t do that to you.”  
“At least I’d be with you,” said Sirius. “My parents… they hate me,” he looked down.  
Bae felt his heart twist. “Are they so bad that you’d rather live on the streets with me? Running from the Shadow and the police and sleeping in alleys? Stealing food and clothes and going hungry and freezing in the rain and snow?”  
Sirius looked like he was genuinely considering this and Bae felt his concern mounting.  
“ _Are_ they?” he asked incredulously.  
Sirius looked down and scuffed his shoe against the pavestones. “They’ll be furious when they find me out here. They’ll-” he swallowed hard and tears sprang into his eyes.  
Bae took a deep breath. “You’d have to listen to me.”  
Sirius looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.  
“You would have to do whatever I told you. I can’t promise you’ll be safe and that you’ll always have food or be warm and comfortable. In fact all I can promise is the opposite. But I’ll do my best to look after you and I’ll take you back anytime if you want to leave,” he paused and looked into Sirius’ eyes. “And I won’t leave you.”  
Sirius stared up at him and in answer he slipped his hand into Baelfire’s.

Bae took a deep breath. “Alright then. We’d better run.”


	2. The Way of the Wizards

Two Years Later

Baelfire rubbed his fingers over the ornate, beautifully addressed letter.

Sirius Black

Sixth Alley on Old Street, London

He had known this day would come. He had known ever since Sirius had told him about Hogwarts two years ago.  
His little brother was asleep next to him, a smile still on his face. Bae had a feeling he was dreaming about Hogwarts and all the wonderful things he would learn there.  
And this was a boon, in more ways than one. Sirius would no longer be on the streets. Bae would no longer have to worry about his little brother being cold or hungry or at risk from being captured by police.  
But at the same time it was a curse. Because even though he had saved every spare cent for two years he knew he didn’t have enough money to buy all the things his brother needed. And, more importantly, if they went to the school then the Blacks would know where Sirius was. They would want him back, and they would do terrible things to him once they had him.  
And worse, they would take Sirius away from him.

He couldn’t let that happen. _Wouldn’t_ let it happen. But he would have to be careful, and clever.

The first thing that needed dealt with was the list of school supplies. Bae would have to see what he could scrounge up and trade in the way of quills and cauldrons, but schoolbooks and such would have to be bought at Diagon Alley.

And a wand. Sirius had to have a wand.

He could make his little brother’s robes himself if he could get enough black (or close to black) fabric. Maybe he could even manage a new set of clothes for Sirius. Theirs were terribly tattered and worn, and he knew they were too small.  
There was a tailor’s shop a few streets away. He would have to break in, but he could get what he needed there.

He sighed. He hated having to do this. Hated having to live stealing and scrounging and running. But it was the only way to take care of Sirius.

And Baelfire would do _anything_ to take care of Sirius.

****

“Well, here we are, Diagon Alley.”

Baelfire stepped through the gateway with his little brother bouncing beside him. Sirius’ new black robes fluttered in the wind, sweeping around his ankles. Bae had made them too big on purpose because he knew it might be a long time before he could buy or make Sirius new ones. Underneath his robes were a long-sleeved gray shirt and black pants that Bae had also made. Sirius had begged him to stitch a little golden lion into the shirt, the emblem of his favorite Hogwarts house- Gryffindor. It had been difficult, but Bae had managed to do a decent rendering, he thought, considering the fact that the only real lion he’d ever seen had been in a zoo he and Sirius hid in once.

“I don’t know where to go first!” squeaked Sirius, nearly jumping up and down in his excitement.  
“How about we start with books? We know you absolutely need those,” said Bae. “C’mon, there’s a bookstore over there.”

Some time later they stumbled out of Flourish and Blotts with an armload of books. Sirius was bouncing slightly less, but still looked eager. Bae followed his little brother as the smaller boy dashed across the street to stare into the window of a shop selling broomsticks.  
Bae sighed. Every time they came to Diagon Alley (and that had only been a total of three times before this one) Sirius was caught by this same shop window. And every time it broke Baelfire’s heart to drag him away from it empty handed.  
Now, however, at least he had something to distract his brother with.

He slipped up behind Sirius and let him stare longingly at the broomsticks for a few moments, then reached out his free hand and tugged his little brother’s robe.  
“C’mon, Sirius, let’s get you your wand.”  
Sirius brightened again and bounced a little as they trotted towards the slightly battered wandshop Bae had his eyes on. He figured it would be less expensive than the fancier shops, and perhaps the owner would even haggle with him (he had had no such luck in the bookstore, the owner had only given him a disgusted look and told him that if he didn’t want to pay he could go elsewhere).

Inside they waited behind a counter just low enough for Sirius to see over and waited as an old man shuffled out to meet them.

Several explosive misfires later, Sirius had his wand, and he was beaming so brightly that Bae didn’t even mind paying full price for it.

****

“Platform 9 ¾,” muttered Baelfire. “What in the world does that mean?”  
“It’s between Platforms 9 and 10,” said Sirius helpfully.  
“Yes but how do we get to it?” asked Baelfire, staring at the signs in front of them, none of which said anything about a platform “3/4’s” of any kind.  
“Maybe doing that,” said Sirius, raising his hand and pointing.

There, ahead of them, between Platforms 9 and 10, Bae saw several children and their parents walking or running into a wall and _disappearing through it_. He took a deep breath as he and Sirius approached it.

“Alright,” he said. “Alright then. It’s as good an idea as any. It’s obviously magic at any rate, so even if it’s the wrong way…”  
“Maybe somebody on the other side can tell us the right way,” finished Sirius.  
Bae nodded. “Alright. On three then,” he took hold of Sirius’ hand and his brother squeezed his tightly. “One…”  
“Two…”  
“Three!”

They ran. Somehow they didn’t crash into the wall, but stumbled out on the other side of it, eyes wide.

Sirius gasped and Bae turned to see a massive red and black train with the words, “Hogwarts Express” written on it in beautiful gold letters.  
“Alright, c’mon, let’s get you settled,” said Bae.  
“And you’re coming too, right?” asked Sirius.  
“Of course I am,” said Baelfire. “I told you, I’ll hide with the luggage, sneak into the castle and then find someplace to hide. Easy peasy.”  
Sirius grinned at him. “And you’ll find me?”  
Bae pressed a kiss to the top of his brother’s head. “Of course I will.”

****

“Psst! Bae!”

Baelfire looked up from the pile of luggage he was crouched in. “Sirius? What is it?”  
Sirius appeared and sat down next to him, grinning. “I made friends!” he said cheerfully. “There were three other boys who ended up in the compartment I’m in. One of them bought us snacks, so I had to bring you some.”  
He handed Bae a pile of candy and a sandwich. Bae grinned back at him as he took a bite of the sandwich.  
“What’re their names?” he asked after a moment.  
“James, Remus and Peter. James is the one who bought the snacks,” said Sirius. “They’re really nice.”  
“Well I’m glad to hear you’ve already made friends,” said Bae. At least he didn’t have to worry about Sirius being alone.  
“James said he thinks we’ll be there soon, so I wanted to warn you too,” said Sirius.  
“Thanks,” said Bae. “You’d best get back before they miss you.”  
“Okay. Love you, Bae,”  
Bae kissed the top of Sirius’ head. “Love you too, Sirius.”

****

The castle was incredible. Bae had seen castles before, but those had been solid, boxy and inelegant, meant for war.  
Hogwarts was exactly the opposite. It was full of soaring towers and buildings that glowed with light from dozens of windows, ornate walkways stretching between them.

He had stolen an extra robe from a trunk before the train stopped and donned it. After that it was a simple matter to sneak out with the other children and slip into the castle.  
Once inside he snuck away from the others and stood in the shadows at the very edge of the Great Hall. Inside he could see long tables and smell food- delicious, savory food that made his mouth water and his stomach ache for a decent meal. Along with this, there appeared to be hundreds of candles levitating near the ceiling and giving off light, and there at the front of the room he saw a line of tables with adults, who he assumed were professors, sitting at them.

When the first year students were led into the room he strained to catch a glimpse of Sirius. Finally, he saw his brother’s mop of black hair bobbing along aside three other little boys. His heart warmed at the sight of them. He hoped he would be able to get to know them soon.

An elderly woman with a pointed witch’s hat- apparently called McGonagall- explained the Sorting and then began calling up the students in alphabetical order. He didn’t have to wait long for her to get to Sirius, and he straightened up as he watched his brother step up to the stool and get the great black hat set on his head.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the Hat shouted after a moment. There was deafening applause at that, and Baelfire beamed as his brother took his seat the table with his new classmates.  
He waited long enough to see that the other three boys Sirius had befriended also ended up in Gryffindor, then slipped out into the corridor to wait.

He stayed put as long as he could, but the smell of the food was too much for him to resist. He left the Great Hall and slipped down, following his nose until he stood before a small, unadorned door where delicious smells were wafting from. He was weighing how he should try and sneak into the kitchen when abruptly the door opened.  
Before Bae had time to hide, a small creature had stepped out. It was perhaps two feet tall, with big ears and a slightly droopy face.

It looked surprised, and a little concerned when it saw him standing there, and Bae felt his heart pounding. If this creature raised the alarm he was done for. He needed to get out of here.  
Before he could decide which way to run though, the creature spoke.  
“What are you doing down here, then? The feast is up there, young man!” its tone was not unkind, but it was certainly surprised and confused.  
“I- ah, I’m not,” Bae swallowed. “I’m just not very fond of crowds,” he said finally.  
“I’ve never seen you before,” said the creature, curious now.  
“Er, this is the first year I’ve come here,” he said, his mind racing. “Just moved.”  
“Oh! And you’re not young either, must be a hard switch,” nodded the creature. “Did you need something to eat then?”  
“If-if you wouldn’t mind,” said Bae. His stomach growled in agreement, and he winced.  
“Well, it won’t do to stand in the corridor like that, come inside! Don’t bang your head now, there we are!”

The creature, who he would later learn was a house elf, led him to a small table in the corner of the biggest kitchen Baelfire had ever seen. It was hot down here, and there were hundreds of house elves bustling around. Some of them looked at him curiously but didn’t ask questions. The house elf who had found him brought him a plate of food and some cider and Baelfire thanked her profusely before digging in to the first good meal he’d had in far, far too long.

****

After having stuffed his pockets with as many rolls and bits of cheese and meat as he could, Bae had bid farewell to the friendly house elves and headed back to the Great Hall. There he found the children getting ready to leave and once again sought out Sirius.

“Sirius!” he whispered, grabbing the younger boy as he walked by.  
Sirius jumped, then grinned when he saw him. “Hullo, Bae!”  
“Shh,” Bae said, but he smiled. “Things still going well then?”  
“Mhm!” Sirius beamed. “I’m having a great time! And the food here is amazing!” he suddenly looked concerned. “You got something to eat, didn’t you?”  
“Of course I did,” said Bae. “I wandered down to the kitchens and made a few friends of my own.” He showed his pockets stuffed with food to Sirius and that appeared to satisfy his little brother.  
“Alright, phase one of our plan is complete,” said Bae. “I’ll find you after I find someplace to hide.”  
“Okay,” Sirius hugged him. “Be careful, Bae.”  
Baelfire ruffled his brother’s hair. “Have fun, little star.”  
Sirius giggled, then dashed away, waving. Bae waved back, smiling.

Then, he melted into the shadows and out of the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That house elf definitely knew Bae was lying, but he looked so pathetic that she wasn't going to turn him away either.  
> Anyway, the story is underway! Let me know if you liked it.


	3. Lost Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m just worried about Bae,” he said. “He’s never been gone this long before.”  
>  “Maybe he found a secret passageway in and out of the castle!” said James, coming up beside them.  
>  “He would have come to see me if he’d found one of those,” said Sirius.  
>  “Well maybe we need to find the secret passage and go to him,” suggested James.

Sirius lay quietly in his bed, listening to the soft breathing of his new friends. He and the others had stayed up late talking and laughing until they could barely keep their eyes open. Then they had gone to bed, and one by one fell asleep.

Except for Sirius.

He wrapped the blankets tighter around himself, trying to imagine that they were Bae’s arms wrapped around him. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes.

Every night for the past two years he and Bae had curled up in whatever corner they could find in alleys or abandoned houses. He would lay down and Bae would curl up beside him, wrapping his arms around Sirius. At first this had purely been so that they didn’t freeze to death, but after a while even on warm summer nights Sirius had snuggled up to his brother so that he could feel Bae’s comforting embrace. Bae being next to him meant that he was safe, that no shadows, monsters, police or wizards could get him.

And he missed that safety, even though he knew nothing would hurt him here. He wanted his brother.

He sniffled again and curled up on his side, remembering a conversation he and Bae had had a long time ago.

“What was Neverland like?” he had asked. “I know you said it was awful, but why?”  
Bae sighed. “During the day it seemed like a dream, at least, that’s what the boys told me who came there without knowing what Neverland was. There were no grown-ups to boss you around, nobody to chase you and ask where your parents were. You could do whatever you wanted- so long as it followed Pan’s rules. But at night it became a nightmare. Everyone started to remember their parents- and they missed them. At night everyone wanted to go back, but they couldn’t. The Shadow would never let you leave.”  
“Did you miss your papa?” Sirius asked.  
Bae had been silent for a long time. “Yes,” he finally said with a sigh. “I missed who he had been. Even though every night I had to remember him and what he’d done to me.”

Sirius wiped his tears away. If Bae could be brave even when he missed his papa and wanted to go home then Sirius decided he could be brave too. After all, he was in Gryffindor now, and Gryffindors were brave.

He made himself shut his eyes and try to fall asleep, but even though he tried to be brave, tears still slid down his cheeks for a long time.

****

The next day Sirius didn’t have time to miss his brother. Instead he was busy running around the castle, trying to find his classes and avoid moving staircases.

The first time he thought of Bae was at lunch. He sat down with his friends and stared as food simply appeared on his plate. He didn’t have to dig through garbage to find it, didn’t have to steal it from anyone, it just _appeared_.

“Sirius, are you okay?”  
He looked up at James, who was staring at him with concern. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he said.  
“Last night you ate like you hadn’t had food for weeks, now you’re just staring at your plate,” said James.  
Sirius looked down. “No, the week before we came here was alright. Bae found us some nice sandwiches in a garbage bin outside this restaurant and we stayed there for a few days since it was near Diagon Alley.”  
He glanced back up and found all three of his friends staring at him, openmouthed.  
“You ate food out of a garbage bin?” said Remus, quietly.  
“Yes,” said Sirius, fidgeting.  
“Like rats!” said Peter, his eyes wide.  
“They weren’t rats, Peter!” said James, giving the other boy a light shove. He turned back to Sirius, frowning. “Is your brother still out there?”  
Sirius glanced around, then whispered. “Can you guys keep a secret?”  
The other three leaned in conspiratorially and nodded.  
Sirius took a deep breath. “My brother came with me. He’s here, somewhere, at Hogwarts,” he took on his fiercest expression. “But you _can’t_ tell anyone, because if they find him they might make him leave.”  
“He came with you?” gasped Peter. “Does he have magic?”  
“No,” said Sirius. “But he’s very smart and clever and brave, and he’s always looked after me.”  
“I won’t tell anyone,” said Remus, solemnly.  
“I won’t either!” James said fiercely.  
Peter shook his head. “Me neither.”  
Sirius smiled at them. “Thank you,” he looked down at his food and took a breath. Bae had taken food with him last night, he would be alright for a couple of days till he got settled. And he would want Sirius to keep up his strength anyway.

He took a bite of his lunch, and stuck a roll into his pocket.

For Baelfire.

****

It had been four days since he said goodbye to Bae and Sirius was worried. Was Bae alright? Had he found a place to hide? Had he gotten hurt? Did he have food?

And, even though he knew it was selfish for him to even think about it when Bae could be in terrible trouble, Sirius wanted his brother back because he missed him. He hadn’t slept well the past four nights and he was tired. He was having trouble focusing on lessons and homework not only because he was worried, but because he could barely keep his eyes open. However, as soon as he climbed into bed he would be wide awake, waiting for Bae to curl up beside him.

The others had started helping him look for his brother. He had told them what Bae looked like in the hopes that one of them would see him.

No such luck. It was as though Bae had disappeared.

And with that thought came an even more worrisome one, one that Sirius tried very hard not to dwell on.

_‘He abandoned you,’_ said a little voice in his head.  
_‘Bae would_ never _abandon me,’_ he told it, defiantly.

And yet the thought persisted. Bae had always worried about him being safe and taken care of, and now he was. Had his brother simply decided to leave him in the hands of people who could look after him?  
Sirius wrapped his arms around himself. He didn’t care if he was on the streets. He didn’t care if he was cold or hungry. As long as he had his brother he didn’t care about anything else.

“Are you okay, Sirius?”  
He jumped, and found himself looking into Remus’ worried eyes. He tried to smile, and nodded, rubbing his eyes.  
“I’m just worried about Bae,” he said. “He’s never been gone this long before.”  
“If he’s as smart and clever as you say he is then he’s probably fine. Probably he’s just waiting a few days in case anyone saw him at the feast and wondered who he is,” said Remus.  
“Or maybe he found a secret passageway in and out of the castle!” said James, coming up beside them.  
“He would have come to see me if he’d found one of those,” said Sirius.  
“Well maybe _we_ need to find the secret passage and go to _him_ ,” suggested James.  
“A secret what?” squeaked Peter behind them.  
“How are we going to find a secret passage?” asked Remus skeptically.  
Sirius considered this. “Well, Bae and I always found secret hiding places when we were in trouble. Bae said that’s the best time to find those sorts of things, because you’re desperate and you’ll try anything.”  
“Well then we should have found a dozen of them by now, with the way James gets in trouble,” smirked Remus.  
“Hey!” James gave him a playful shove. “Sirius has gotten in his fair share of trouble too!”  
Sirius frowned. He had gotten reprimanded more than he would have liked. Mostly because he forgot to pay attention. He was usually thinking about his brother, or lunch, or whether Peter was eating the rolls he saved for Baelfire or if he just hadn’t collected as many as he’d thought. However, there were also the times James whispered something funny to him and he started laughing, or when a boy from Ravenclaw had thrown a rolled up wad of paper at his head and he’d thrown it back so hard the other boy shrieked.

He would have to work on that. They might send him away if he got into too much trouble, and then Bae would be disappointed in him and-

“-probably have to get in real proper trouble with someone like McGonagall,” James was saying. “I bet it doesn’t work otherwise.”  
He looked to Sirius for confirmation and Sirius nodded.  
“So,” said James, grinning. “I guess we’ll just have to land ourselves in a mess that’ll get us detention.”

****

It was the next day that an opportunity presented itself. Though, perhaps “presented” wasn’t quite the right word.

Sirius ran down the halls of the castle, James by his side, wondering what Bae would think when he learned he’d set fire to a teacher’s desk.

He hadn’t meant to, of course, but he hadn’t been paying very close attention in Transfiguration and he’d mumbled the spell and not watched where he was pointing his wand, and, well-

The stack of papers on McGonagall’s desk had caught fire. He had heard her yell and, without really thinking, had dashed out of the classroom in a panic. It had been a few moments later that he heard James beside him.

“That was great!” said James. “She’s madder than a hornet!”  
“I wasn’t-” Sirius began, meaning to tell James that he hadn’t actually meant to set fire to McGonagall’s desk, but he stopped short when he saw the bright grin on James’ face.  
“I wasn’t going to do anything without telling you,” he said, changing tactics. “But I thought if she didn’t see us whispering together she wouldn’t know we planned to do something and we might be able to pass it off as an accident.”  
“Brilliant!” said James. “Now we’ve just got to find a secret passage and the detention’ll be worth it!”

Sirius scanned the hall in front of him, the walls, the floor, looking for anything different.  
_‘When you’re scared and running your senses are sharper. You notice things you wouldn’t normally, because you have to,’_ Bae had told him.

“There!” Sirius grabbed James and yanked him around a corner. Behind them he could hear yelling (McGonagall and someone else, he wasn’t sure who) but he focused on the wall before them. There was an odd seam on one of the stones, and he felt it, pressing experimentally.

All at once the wall crumbled inward. Sirius gasped as the stones tumbled away into a dark tunnel.  
“Wicked!” grinned James.  
Sirius grinned back and stepped through the hole. James followed quickly.  
“How do we put it back then?” James asked, picking up a stone.  
In answer, the stone shot out of his hand and flew into the air before them. The rest of the stones followed it, zipping back into their places. In seconds the wall was complete and the boys found themselves sealed inside the tunnel.

“Well,” said James. “That was fun. Hope there’s a way out of here.”  
Sirius looked into the dark passageway and started walking down it. “Guess we’ll see.”

****

The boys walked silently through the darkness of the tunnel. It didn’t take long for Sirius’ eyes to adjust and he led the way. He pretended he wasn’t scared, so James would believe he was brave, but the way the darkness wrapped around them reminded him of the Shadow, and he found himself looking around nervously, waiting for a pair of glowing eyes to appear and snatch him away.

“Sirius?”  
“Mm?”  
“Did you really live on the streets?”  
Sirius turned to look at the dark form of James just behind him. “Of course I did!”  
“Alright, I just wanted to ask. It’s pretty crazy is all,” said James. “I couldn’t imagine having to root through garbage for food and not having a mum and dad to look after me.”  
Sirius looked away. “I had Baelfire.”  
“What happened to your parents?”  
Sirius paused, then, “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”  
“Yeah, of course I promise,” he could hear the confusion in James’ voice.  
Sirius took a deep breath. “My parents hated me. They didn’t want me,” he clenched his hands. “One night I heard a song outside my window, calling me. I followed it and a Shadow grabbed me and started to carry me off. Baelfire saved me from it. His father didn’t want him either and he had been taken by the Shadow to a horrible place called Neverland. I had met him earlier that day and he was so nice to me, so I asked if I could go with him. He said I could and we’ve been together- we’ve been brothers- ever since.”

There was a long pause.

“Really?” asked James, finally.  
“Yes!” Sirius turned to glare at him, even though the other boy couldn’t see him in the dark.  
“So Bae isn’t, you mean, he adopted you?”  
“Yeah,” said Sirius. “And I adopted him.”

Another pause, then, “What happens when your parents find out where you are?”  
Sirius swallowed hard. “I don’t know. That’s why I need to find Bae, he’ll know what to do,” he looked down. “And I’m worried about him. And I miss him.”

He felt James come up beside him, and felt a hand slip into his.  
“Well I won’t let them take you back either,” said James, fiercely. “I’ll hex ‘em right out of the school if I have to!”  
Sirius laughed, and wiped away the tears falling down his cheeks with his free hand. “Thanks, James.”

****

The tunnel finally ended and the boys found themselves on the school grounds. Sirius turned and saw they had come out of a small hole tucked into the foundation of the school and mostly hidden by a rise before them.

James climbed to the top of the rise and whistled. “We must have come quite a ways. Who’s house is that, anyway?”  
Sirius scrambled up beside him and looked out at the small house down the hill at the edge of the forest. “I dunno.”  
“Oh, look! There’s that man who brought us into the castle,” James pointed to the huge man walking out of the forest. “Looks like he found somebody in the Forbidden Forest. We won’t be the only ones getting detention I reckon.”  
Sirius narrowed his eyes, then let out a whoop. “That’s Bae!”   
James’ eyes widened. “It is?”  
“Yes!” Sirius laughed and punched his fist at the air. “He’s alright!”

_‘He didn’t leave me.’_

Sirius still had plenty of questions. Why hadn’t Bae come and found him like he said he would? Why had he stayed hidden for so long? Why had he been in the Forbidden Forest?

But his brother was safe and here and that meant that all his questions would be answered and everything would be okay.


	4. A Friend and a Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So why was Bae in the Forbidden Forest? And why did he take so long to get back to Sirius? Well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Baelfire finally meets more HP characters in this one, I'm sorry if they're slightly OOC, I have honestly not written many Harry Potter characters before and it takes me a while to get used to writing new characters. I did have fun writing this chapter though, so I hope you have fun reading it!

Going into the forest had been a mistake, Baelfire could see that now. Unfortunately, he was now hopelessly lost, bleeding, and hungry. It had been four days. He had been nearly killed in a myriad of ways by a myriad of strange creatures and he was pretty sure that some of them were still hunting him. He stumbled along, exhausted, wondering if he’d ever see his little brother again.  
It wasn’t that he was unfamiliar with forests and their dangers; he had grown up next to a forest filled with wolves, soldiers, ogres and magical monsters; he had evaded Pan’s traps for years in Neverland.  
This forest was simply incredibly malevolent and intent on killing him. He didn’t have the faintest idea why all of these monsters were in such close proximity to a school full of children either, but he was starting to truly hate the person who had decided on keeping a school and a Hell forest so close together.

He was on the verge of giving up when he heard the noise.

It wasn’t an animal, though it could be something else in the trees trying to lure him to his doom. But it sounded like someone humming a song…  
Bae slipped into the shadow of a tree and watched in the direction the noise was coming from. It grew louder until suddenly a huge man stepped out from the undergrowth. He wore a long, brown, patched cloak and he had a bushy black beard and long black hair. He strode through the woods unconcerned, armed with only a crossbow.

Baelfire gaped at him. In the past four days he had seen no sign of other humans or civilization. And now there was a man just walking through the forest like he was on holiday. He looked like he might be part giant, but he had a kind face and Bae somehow felt sure that the man wouldn’t hurt him.

So, with a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the tree.  
The man stopped in his tracks, an expression of surprise on his face.  
“Hullo,” said Baelfire, giving the man a wan smile. “I don’t suppose you know the way out of here, do you?”  
The man blinked once, then spoke. “Why of course I do, young man, but what are you doing in here in the first place? The Forbidden Forest is off limits to students, you know.”  
Bae swallowed. If he did this there was no going back, but it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice, and being a captive of Hogwarts seemed a better option than getting eaten by forest creatures.  
“I’m not a student,” he said quietly. “And, well, I sort of got lost.”  
The big man frowned. “Well if you aren’t a student then what are you doing here?”  
“I-” Bae took a deep breath. He was finding it hard to focus. “I came here with my little brother. He’s a student here, Sirius. I- we were living on the streets. I couldn’t leave him alone, I have to look after him, so I came with him here and I’ve-I’ve been hiding out here,” he looked down. “If you just show me the way out of his place I’ll do whatever you want, just,” he shut his eyes tightly and clenched his hands. “Don’t leave me here, please.”

There was a long moment of silence during which Bae couldn’t bear to look up at the man. He heard the man’s footsteps coming closer, then abruptly felt a hand on his shoulder.  
“’Course I won’t leave you out here,” said the man, gently. “The Forbidden Forest is no place for children, no matter why they’re here. Come on, then, I’ll take you back to my house, maybe get some food in you, you look fit to collapse.”  
Bae managed a watery laugh. He looked up at the man and smiled weakly.  
“Thank you,” he said, quietly.  
“Mhm. What’s your name then?”  
“Baelfire,” he said, letting the man guide him along as they started walking. “What’s yours?”  
“Rubeus Hagrid, at your service, young Baelfire.”

****

Baelfire sat in Hagrid’s hut, hungrily eating a bowl of soup. Hagrid stood close by, poking the fire absently.

As soon as they had come out of the forest and seen the hut sitting along its edge Bae had been overcome with such a feeling of _home_ that he almost started crying.  
“It’s not much, but you can stay here till you get your strength back,” said Hagrid, leading him inside.  
“It’s wonderful,” said Bae, taking in the cozy little structure, his heart tightening. “I used to live in a place like this when I was a boy.”  
“Did you now? Well isn’t that a fine thing!” Hagrid had grinned at him, and, despite the deep sadness in his heart, Bae had grinned back.

He swallowed the last bite of his soup just as Hagrid sat down at the table with him.  
“Now I suppose I’ve got to figure out what to do with you,” said Hagrid thoughtfully.  
Bae clenched his hands together. “Do you think the people at the school will be angry I’m here?”  
“Well, I don’t know about angry,” said Hagrid. “Maybe surprised, but, well, I don’t know.”  
“Will they make me leave?” Bae asked quietly.  
Hagrid frowned. “They might. You said you were living on the streets before this?”  
Bae nodded. “Yes. I don’t- I can’t go back. I promised Sirius I’d look after him,” he looked down.  
“Maybe you ought to tell me the whole story,” said Hagrid.  
Bae was silent for several moments, then he took a deep breath and leaned forward. “Alright. But you have to promise not to tell anyone unless I say you can, alright?”  
Hagrid hemmed and hawed for a moment, then finally sighed. “Well, alright, I suppose. I promise.”

Bae nodded and took a breath. “Okay. Well, um, first of all, Sirius isn’t exactly, entirely my brother. I met him two years ago…”

****

Baelfire and Hagrid stared at each other from over the table in the wake of Bae’s tale. Bae’s chest twisted with anxiety, and Hagrid stared at him with something like concern.

“I think,” said Hagrid finally. “That you should tell Dumbledore.”  
“Who?” asked Bae, frowning.  
“Dumbledore. He’s the Headmaster here at Hogwarts. He’ll know how to help you and your brother.”  
Bae’s face hardened. “No.”  
“He could help you-”  
“ _No_ ,” said Bae firmly. “If he decides I can’t stay then there’s nothing I can do- except maybe hide in that forest again, but I don’t think I’d survive that. I have to stay hidden, Hagrid, it’s the only way I can stay near Sirius and protect him.”  
Hagrid didn’t look happy about this, but he let out a great sigh and looked up at the ceiling. “Oh alright, fine then, you can stay here.”

Baelfire blinked. “I… can?”  
“Sure. There’s too many people up in the castle for you to hide from. It’ll take them longer to figure out you’re here. And, well, maybe I can teach you some things about the forest in case you have to hide there again.”  
Bae hesitated. “You’d really… let me stay? Really?”  
“’Course I would! You don’t even mind the look of me house!” grinned Hagrid. “But you’d have to stay close by, no wanderin’ or anything, except maybe at night.”  
Bae nodded. “I could do that. I- thank you Hagrid,” he swallowed hard. “This- this means a lot to me.”  
“Ah, well, outcasts got to stick together you know,” he reached out and ruffled Bae’s hair. “Now you ought to get some rest. We’ll figure this out, I reckon. You can sleep in my bed till we get you one of your own worked out.”  
Bae grinned and stood. He walked over and then nervously reached out and hugged the big man. “ _Thank you_.”  
“Oh! Well, I guess, you’re welcome then young Baelfire! It’s no trouble.”

Hagrid hugged him back tight enough to take his breath away and Bae beamed, feeling safe for the first time in a very, very long time.

****

It was four days before they were found out. Bae was sitting in Hagrid’s hut, mending a tear in his jacket when he heard voices outside.

“Well good morning, Dumbledore, sir, er, what brings you down this way?”  
Bae sprang up and dove behind a pile of crates near the door, tossing a blanket over his head. He’d planned for this eventuality, he just hoped it would end without him being found out.

He had been genuinely enjoying the past few days. He had food and shelter, nothing was trying to eat him, and he was enjoying Hagrid’s company. The big man was cheerful, and happy to share what he had. Bae didn’t think he’d met a better grown-up in all his travels and adventures.

“Hagrid, I’ve come about the boy,” said the second voice.  
Bae’s chest tightened and his heart pounded.  
“Boy? What boy would that be then?”  
“The one who’s been staying with you the past few days,” said Dumbledore calmly.

Bae couldn’t breathe. He needed to get out of here. There was a back door, if he could make it to it then he could get to the forest. Hagrid had been telling him about the forest too, and, like most things, it was turning out that it wasn’t terribly difficult to survive if you understood it. Bae was reasonably certain he could manage to hide out there for a few hours at least without trouble, and he was about to make a run for it when the door opened.

“I- well I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” said Hagrid, shuffling in after Dumbledore. If he stared through the fabric of the blanket Bae could see them. Dumbledore was older than he had expected; the wizard had long white hair and an even longer white beard.

Bae felt an unexpected stab of anger in his heart. Why did magic have to ruin everything good in his life? Whenever he thought he felt a place to belong magic somehow came along and snatched it away from him.  
Except, he thought, shutting his eyes, for Sirius.

There was nothing for it. Dumbledore knew he was here, and he didn’t want Hagrid to get into trouble on his behalf (well, no more trouble than he would already be in) and maybe he could work out some sort of deal where at least Sirius ended up safe.

So, Bae took a deep breath, flung off the blanket and stepped out from behind the crates.  
“I know he is hiding here, Hagrid, and I would like to speak to him,” said Dumbledore.  
Bae cleared his throat. “Well then speak to me, wizard.”

Dumbledore turned around. His face was covered in wrinkles, and his eyes were thoughtful and deep. He assessed Baelfire for a moment, then nodded.  
“Who are you then, and what is your purpose at Hogwarts?” asked Dumbledore.  
“My name is Baelfire,” said the boy, looking the wizard in the eye. “And my purpose here is to protect my little brother at any cost to myself.”  
“Your brother?” asked Dumbledore, raising an eyebrow.  
“Sirius Black,” said Bae. “We’re not brothers by blood, just adoption. And sir, I have to say that I don’t particularly care what you do to me, I’ve been though more than one kind of Hell in my life,” Bae swallowed. “But please, whatever you do, don’t send Sirius back to his parents. He was miserable there. They were cruel and they hated him. And maybe I haven’t done the best job of looking after him these past two years but somehow he’s been happy, and he’s been the happiest I’ve seen him since coming here,” he looked desperately into the wizard’s eyes. “So please don’t make him go back there, please.”

Dumbledore regarded him for several long moments, during which Bae barely dared to breathe. Finally, the old wizard moved away and sat down at the table, motioning for Bae to join him.  
“I think,” he said. “That you had better tell me your whole story, Baelfire, and then I shall decide what to do with you and your brother.”

Bae looked up at Hagrid, who nodded encouragingly at him, and sighed. He sat down across from Dumbledore.

And for the second time he told his tale.

Dumbledore was silent for a long time after Bae finished talking. Hagrid had gone back outside a while ago, which left Bae without anyone to help him figure out what might be going on in the wizard’s mind. He clenched his hands tightly under the table, just barely resisting the urge to demand to know what was going to happen to him.  
And, more importantly, what was going to happen to Sirius.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke.  
“Baelfire,” he said, slowly, as if he were still considering it himself. “How would you like to have a job here at Hogwarts?”  
Bae froze, his brain unable to process that. “Have a what?”  
“A job,” repeated Dumbledore. “You could assist Hagrid as a groundskeeper- you already seem to get along quite well with him- and we could give you someplace to stay, unless you would rather remain here. You would have full access to the castle- since you are, after all, an adult by wizarding standards, and not a student- and be allowed to stay with your brother.”  
Baelfire stared at him, openmouthed. He had expected, at the very least, to be turned out of the castle, and at the worst locked in a dungeon. He had never even dared to hope that he might be offered a _job_.  
“We would pay you, of course, enough so that when your brother graduates you would not be forced to live on the streets,” Dumbledore continued. “It shouldn’t be too much of a problem, we are always in need of more help here. I can give you some time to think about it-”  
“I would be able to visit Sirius whenever I wanted?” Baelfire interrupted.  
“Yes. So long as it does not interfere with his studies,” said Dumbledore.  
“And you won’t send Sirius back to the Blacks?” Bae persisted.  
“No,” said Dumbledore. “I think it would be best to allow you two to both stay here, perhaps we could even work something out so you can stay during the summer.”  
“Then yes,” said Bae, his heart pounding. “Yes I’ll work here. Thank you, sir, thank you so much, you have no idea-” he swallowed hard and looked down, rubbing tears out of his eyes.

He looked back up and saw the old man smiling. “Very good then. Welcome to Hogwarts, young Baelfire.”


	5. Baelfire and the Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baelfire makes a surprising discovery about one of his brother's friends...

Several weeks passed, and Bae found that he was the happiest he had been in a long, long time. Possibly the happiest he had ever been in his life.

As soon as Dumbledore hired him he had found his way to the Gryffindor dormitories, asking the ghosts and living paintings for directions and slipping inside after a student.

“Sirius!” he called, hurrying up the stairs to the bedrooms. “Sirius, where are you?”  
A little face poked out of a doorway above him. “Bae?”  
He grinned. “Hallo, Sirius.”  
“BAE!” Sirius charged at him and threw his arms around his brother. “Where have you been?! I missed you!”  
Bae hugged him back, tightly. “I missed you too,” he said. “I’m sorry it took me so long, but I have good news!” he pulled back so he could see his brother’s face. “I’ve been given a job here!”  
Sirius gaped at him. “What?”  
“I was hiding out with Hagrid, the groundskeeper, after he helped me get out of the forest, and Dumbledore found me out. I told him about us, and instead of throwing me out he gave me a job! And he said you could stay with me and that they wouldn’t send you back to the Blacks!”  
“Really?” Sirius said, his eyes wide.  
“Yep,” Bae grinned.  
A bright smile stole over Sirius’ face, and he grabbed Bae’s hand. “C’mon, I want you to meet my friends!”

He tugged Bae into a stone room filled with beds, trunks and chaos. Clothes, candy wrappers, parchment and quills lay strewn about the floor. Three other boys sat or lay on their beds in various states of study.  
“James! Remus! Peter! Come meet my brother!” Sirius called.  
The boys scrambled up and dashed over, staring at Bae curiously. He smiled at them. One had hair as dark and bushy as Sirius, with round glasses that covered bright eyes. The second had lighter hair and a solemn expression. The third was small and had light brown hair that stuck out at odd angles and a wide-eyed expression.

“This is my brother, Baelfire,” said Sirius. “Bae, this is James, Remus, and Peter.”  
“Nice to meet you,” said Bae.  
“It’s nice to finally meet you too!” said James, grinning. “Sirius has told us loads about you!”  
“Only good things, I hope,” said Bae playfully.  
“Well, I did tell them that you snore,” said Sirius.  
“Oy! I don’t snore, you do!” said Bae, folding his arms.  
“Do not!”  
“Well why don’t we ask your friends?” said Bae. “Finally we can get a second opinion on the matter,” he turned to the other boys. “Does Sirius snore?”  
“Absolutely not!” said James.  
“No,” said Peter, hesitantly.  
“Like a foghorn,” said Remus, his face completely neutral.  
“Hey!” yelped Sirius.  
Bae laughed, deeply and truly, like he almost never did since his father had abandoned him.

And Bae’s deep laughs were contagious. Soon all five boys were doubled over laughing, and the noise rang through the tower like the joyful clang of a bell.

****

Now, Bae spent his time helping Hagrid on the grounds and the forest. He visited Sirius every day and, at his brother’s request, most nights he stayed in the dorm with Sirius till he fell asleep.

It was after one such night of getting Sirius to sleep that he was headed out of the castle and saw a strange sight. There, hurrying down the path in front of him, was Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, and Remus.

Bae frowned. Remus hadn’t been with the others today. Sirius said he had been ill and had gone to the hospital wing that afternoon.

So why was Madam Pomfrey taking him out of the school, and at night no less?

Bae glanced up at the sky. The moon wasn’t out yet, so there were still enough shadows for him to hide in as he slipped after the two of them. He followed them past Hagrid’s hut to the great, ugly, vicious tree known as the Whomping Willow. Bae felt his heart pounding as they drew closer to it. Surely Madam Pomfrey knew the tree was dangerous?

But as she and Remus drew up to the tree, Madam Pomfrey gave a flick of her wand and the tree froze. Then, she and Remus walked forward under its now harmless branches-

-and disappeared into the trunk of the tree.

Bae dashed forward till he stood next to the trunk of the Willow. He pressed himself against it and peered into the dark passageway before him.  
What was going on? Why was Madam Pomfrey taking Remus down here? Why was the tree guarding this strange tunnel? Was Remus alright, or was this being done to him against his will?

Bae didn’t really want to think about the last question but it swirled around in his mind anyway. Should he really trust wizards? Even if they seemed kind he had seen the damage magic could do- how it could hurt people and tear lives apart. If Hogwarts really was that sort of place then he needed to know now, and get Sirius away from it before they dragged him down into a strange tunnel and did who-knows-what to him.

He stayed hidden at the side of the tree, out of site of the entrance. The Whomping Willow began to sway again. He waited until Madam Pomfrey emerged- without Remus- and stilled the tree again, this time by tapping a spot near the base of it, on one of the roots. The tree froze once more, and she strode away into the night.

Cautiously, Bae slipped into the tunnel. It was dark, so he ran his hands along the tunnel’s sides and followed it up to-

-a door. A great, iron door with a formidable lock on it. Bae frowned. He knelt by the lock and inspected it- Sirius had often said that wizard doors were susceptible to lockpicks.  
With a little effort he got the door open and slipped through, wedging a stone into it to keep it just the slightest bit open in case he had to make a quick getaway.

An old wooden staircase in a rickety house stood before him. He climbed up it to another door, this one not locked, and opened it, slipping through silently.

For as drafty as the house looked it was not cold, even though a fierce wind blew around it. The room was bare, with the only light coming from a window on the far wall.

A quiet noise reached Bae’s ears, a noise that he knew all too well; the crying of a child.

He turned and found Remus curled up in a corner. He wasn’t wearing any clothes, but he had a blanket draped over him. His knees were drawn up and he rested his head on them. His small form shook with sobs.

Bae swallowed hard. It took him a moment to form words, and when he did all that came out was a quiet, “Remus?”

The small boy jerked his head up. He stared at Bae with unrestrained terror in his eyes, so great that Bae took a step back.  
“You- you can’t be here,” gasped Remus. “G-go away!”  
Bae held up his hands. “Remus, it’s only Baelfire-”  
“I know! Go!” Remus stood, and Bae could see him shaking.  
“But what are you doing up here?” Bae asked. “Why- why did Madam Pomfrey bring you up here? What are they doing to you?”  
“I’m here so no one gets hurt,” said Remus, his voice quivering. “You have to go, Bae, please, I don’t- I don’t want to hurt you.”  
He started to cry in earnest now, tears running down his face and great sobs wracking his body. He collapsed onto the floor again, hands over his face.

Bae frowned and crept closer to the boy. “Hurt me?”  
“Yes!” whimpered Remus. “I’m- you have to get out of here. Please.”

He looked so pleading and terrified that Bae found himself nodding.  
“Alright, alright I’ll go. But you have to explain what’s going on to me, tomorrow, alright? You’ll still be here tomorrow, won’t you?”  
Remus looked utterly defeated. He looked down and nodded. “Yes. You can come after the moon sets.”  
Bae bit his lip and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you then, Remus.”

He went back down the stairs. Out the metal door. Absently, he re-locked it. When he reached the tunnel entrance he tapped around the roots like Madam Pomfrey had until the Willow stopped moving. Then he slipped through the night to Hagrid’s hut, thoroughly unnerved and knowing he would not sleep a wink.

****

The next morning, before dawn, Bae hurried to the Whomping Willow. He had thought for a while how to get past it and was pretty sure he had a solution.  
When he reached the tree he took a stone from his pocket. He stared at the spot on the roots he had pushed last night and threw the rock at it.

The tree, which had been waving docilely in the wind, froze completely. Bae hurried under it and into the tunnel. He opened the lock on the door and slipped up the stairs and into the room he had found Remus in.

He froze. Swallowed. Forced himself to breathe.

The room was a disaster. Gouges had been made in the floor and walls, bits of wood lay scattered everywhere, planks had been partially torn up from the floor. The remains of Remus’ blanket were shredded around the room.

He looked around the ruined room, his heart beating far too fast, until he found the small figure of Remus huddled in the corner, just as he had been last night. Bae crept over to him. The boy had scratches all over his body. Bae gently touched his fingers to a deep one on his arm and Remus stirred. He blinked a few times before he managed to focus.

“Baelfire?” he said, his voice quiet and hoarse.  
Bae swallowed hard. He didn’t say anything at first, just pulled off his cloak and carefully wrapped it around Remus.  
“What happened? What attacked you?” he asked.  
Remus coughed. “I-I did. I attacked myself. I’m a… I’m,” he squeezed his eyes shut.  
“It’s alright,” said Bae, quietly. He brushed a strand of hair out of Remus’ face. “It’s alright.”  
Remus was shaking again. Without really thinking about it Bae scooped him up into his arms, making sure his cloak stayed over the boy to keep him warm. He was about the same size as Sirius, and he shook like a leaf. It took Baelfire a moment to realize he was crying.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, Remus,” he said gently, settling down on the floor with Remus tucked against his chest now. “Whatever happened last night is over, you’re okay.”

They sat like that for a little while, Bae just gently rocking Remus as the little boy calmed down.

“I’m a werewolf.”

Bae started, and looked down to find Remus looking up at him. Remus looked away quickly though, and absently picked at a loose string on Bae’s shirt.

“A werewolf,” said Bae, after a moment. He had heard of werewolves, but only in stories from far off lands. “So that means…”  
“Every time there’s a full moon I turn into a wolf. A monster,” said Remus quietly. He squeezed Bae’s shirt in his hand. “I destroy everything, and when there’s nothing left to destroy I attack myself. That’s why I couldn’t let you stay. I’d have- I’d have,” his voice quavered and dropped to a whisper. “I’d have killed you.”

Bae swallowed hard. “I understand that a little. When I- when I lived with my father, I- he wanted to protect me, from a war I had to fight in. So he stole a dagger and killed the creature it controlled. But then he took the creature- the Dark One’s- powers. And he- he changed, and I started to wonder if one day he wouldn’t know himself- or me. But you, you didn’t chose this, did you?”  
“No!” said Remus, a little fiercely. “I was bitten when I was four years old, I-I-I didn’t have a choice.”  
“You were four?” said Bae after a moment. Remus nodded, and Bae wrapped his arms a little tighter around the boy.  
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I-I wish that I could stop it.”  
“Really?” Remus looked up at him, confused.  
“Of course! It sounds like a terrible curse,” said Bae.  
“Most people don’t think of it that way,” murmured Remus. “Most people hate werewolves. I’m- I’m lucky they let me come to Hogwarts. That’s why they lock me in here, so I don’t hurt anyone during the full moon.”  
Bae frowned. “Why would they hate you? It’s not your fault, you were just a little boy when you were cursed.”  
“I don’t know,” said Remus, suddenly sounding very tired.

Bae took a deep breath. “Well, I could take you back to the school if you want.”  
“You don’t have to. Madam Pomfrey will come get me,” said Remus.  
“Well, I’ll stay with you till she comes then,” said Bae, leaning back and resting his head against the wall.  
“Really?”  
“Sure, unless you want me to leave.”  
“No!”  
“Okay, then I’ll stay.”

They were quiet for a little while after that, then Remus spoke again.  
“Bae?”  
“Yes?”  
“Please don’t tell anyone what I am. Please. They’ll- they’ll hate me. I might get expelled.”  
Bae felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Memories slipped unbidden into his mind.

_The other children running away from him._

_‘They’re just scared of your papa.’_

_The villagers cowering away as he and his father walked by._

_A sadness and loneliness that made his bones ache._

_‘I want my father.’_

“I won’t tell a soul, Remus,” he said aloud. “I swear, I won’t even tell Sirius. This is your secret, and it’s yours to tell when you’re ready,” he paused and took a breath. “But I don’t think they’ll mind.”  
Remus pressed his head against Bae’s chest. “Thank you, Baelfire.”  
“You’re welcome, Remus.”

****

It was a little after daybreak that Madam Pomfrey found them. Remus had fallen asleep, and Bae was carefully inspecting the boy’s injuries.

“Baelfire!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”  
Bae looked up, mouth open, unable to form words. He swallowed, and forced himself to breathe.  
“I saw you bringing Remus here last night and I wanted to know what was going on,” he said. “So I came up to talk to Remus, but he told me to go and come back today. So I did,” he stared up at the nurse evenly. “He told me he’s a werewolf.”  
He could see the nurse steeling herself, so he continued, quickly. “I don’t care, and I’ve already told him I won’t tell anyone. I want to help him. He’s- he’s just a little boy,” he looked down.

There was a long pause before Madam Pomfrey finally spoke.  
“I suppose this was bound to happen, what with you living on the grounds,” she said, sighing. “And I suppose that, as a member of the staff you ought to have been told about Remus. I’m sorry for that oversight on our part,” she looked at him closely now. “But what made you think that coming through a locked door to see what was on the other side was a good idea, young man?”  
Bae looked away and shrugged. “I’ve met some… bad wizards in my day. I know that they can hurt people in terrible ways if they want. I would rather think better of the people who are teaching my little brother and his friends though,” he looked up into her eyes and his voice hardened. “So I had to be certain I knew what was going on.”

Madam Pomfrey blinked. Her eyes softened a bit.  
“I’m sorry, Baelfire, I didn’t realize you had had such… experiences. I’m surprised Dumbledore would keep you in the dark considering those circumstances.”  
“It wasn’t his fault, I didn’t tell him everything,” said Bae. “And anyway, I know now, that’s what matters. And I-” he swallowed. “I do want to help. My father, I- he- I’ve seen people lose control because of magic before. And Remus is only a child, it isn’t his fault he’s this way. I thought, maybe, I could help look after him after his transformations. When I came up here earlier he was very upset, he was crying-” Bae’s voice cracked a little. “I don’t want him to be alone after that. I can come and get him after moonset, and stay with him, or- or take him to Hagrid’s, maybe, if, does Hagrid know?”  
Madam Pomfrey sighed. “Yes. All the staff knows, purely for safety reasons, of course. And they all, like you, have sworn not to tell anyone. But I’m not sure if you coming up here before daybreak is a good idea. If he were still transformed-”  
“If the spell breaks at moonset then I’ll be fine,” said Bae. “I’m not trying to be reckless, I have a little brother to look after. But I’d never forgive myself if-” _‘If I left a lonely child by themselves when I knew I could help them,’_ he finished, not quite able to say it aloud.

Bae cleared his throat. “Anyway. I could take him to Hagrid’s and patch him up, get him dressed again. I could probably even sneak him into the castle a different way.” Sirius and his friends were becoming quite good at finding secret passages and hidden doors, and Bae insisted upon knowing every secret they found. So far he knew of two alternate ways into the castle, and he was certain that there were many more.  
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. “The idea has merit, but this is over my head. Since it concerns a matter of student safety you’ll have to speak to Dumbledore about it.”  
“I’d keep him safe,” said Bae, frowning.  
Madam Pomfrey sighed heavily. “I didn’t mean Remus. I mean that if you do ever happen to open the door to the Shrieking Shack while Remus is still transformed and accidentally set him loose on the ground then a great many students would be in danger.”  
“I wouldn’t-” Bae began.  
“I don’t believe you would on purpose,” she said, holding up a hand. “But this is a very delicate matter. Werewolves are hated in the wizarding community, and we are already taking a great risk in allowing Remus to come here. Not that it’s the boy’s fault, but we must take every precaution nonetheless.”  
Bae glanced down at the little boy curled up in his arms. Remus didn’t look like he could hurt anyone, not asleep, with hair falling over his eyes and dirt smudges on his cheeks.

But then he thought of his father and he sighed. Magic could make a monster out of anyone.

“I understand,” he said, finally. “I’ll talk to Dumbledore. Do you mind if I take him up to the school with you though? He’s less likely to waken up then.”  
Madam Pomfrey’s eyes softened again and she nodded. “Come along then.”

They walked in silence through the passageway and up through the Willow’s trunk. The nurse froze the tree once more and they strode over the grounds to the castle in the gathering light.

“I can see one thing very clearly about you, Baelfire,” said Madam Pomfrey suddenly.  
“Oh?” said Bae, uncertainly. “What’s that?”  
She looked back at him and gave him a small smile.

“You make an excellent big brother.”


	6. Another Magical Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'There was a pause. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and folded his hands together on his desk, peering at Baelfire over his half-moon spectacles. “I think, Baelfire, that it would be wise if you told me your whole story, so that we can avoid any further misunderstandings.”  
> Bae felt a jolt in his heart, but forced his voice not to shake and his expression to stay neutral. “My whole story?”'

_Two Years Ago_

_‘Not many witches and wizards where you live?’_  
Baelfire’s mind reeled with the implication of the little boy’s words. So this wasn’t a land without magic after all? The Blue Fairy had lied to him? It was the same city, London, that he had been in before, but apparently time had passed here while he’d been in Neverland. But if magic was here now then it had been there all the time, hadn’t it?

That meant it never would have worked. He never would have been able to bring his father here, never would have been able to get rid of the Dark Magic in him.

The thought drained all the energy and willpower he had left and he sat down despondently in an alley, running his hand through his hair. It didn’t matter anyway. Probably his father had forgotten about him a long time ago and been consumed by the darkness. Bae would never see him again, anyway.   
He pulled his knees up and covered his face with his hands. There was no one to want him, and no point in living.

But giving up meant the Shadow would get him, and he could not, would not go back to Neverland.

So, with an effort, he stood and wearily set out to find the “ice cream” shop Sirius had told him about.

****

_Present Day_

Baelfire strode through the corridors of Hogwarts to the entrance of Dumbledore’s office. After he had gotten Remus settled in the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had given him directions, and between those and the paintings he had found his way here.   
“Licorice snaps,” he said quietly.

The wall pulled back and revealed a stairway leading up. Bae climbed the stairs and knocked on the door at the top.

“Come in.”

Bae pushed the door open and stepped inside. He blinked.  
Dumbledore’s office was not what he expected, but as soon as he saw it he decided it was the only type of office the old wizard could have had. Paintings covered the walls and ceiling, and bookshelves took up the space between them. In the middle was a big wood desk covered in quills and parchment. The room felt cozy, safe, somehow, even if it did belong to a wizard.

Not that Bae really minded Dumbledore. The man had given him a job, after all, and told him he could stay with Sirius. He had also already heard several stories from Hagrid (after Bae demanded to know why Hagrid kept saying, “He’s a great man, Dumbledore” all the time) about Dumbledore that made him think better of the wizard.

“Ah, Baelfire. What brings you here on this fine morning?” the old man asked now.  
Bae walked up to the desk and hesitated. Dumbledore waved his hand and a chair scooted over. Bae grimaced, but sat down.  
“I’m here, because, well,” Bae sighed. “I know about Remus.”  
“Ah,” Dumbledore nodded. “I thought you’d discover that fairly quickly, but you’re even more observant than I’d anticipated. What do you think of our young werewolf then?”  
“I’d like to help him,” said Bae.  
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “Really?”  
“It’s not his fault he’s cursed.”  
“Hmm,” the old man leaned back. “That’s an interesting way of thinking of it.”  
“It’s true! Transforming into a monster every month is definitely some sort of dark curse,” said Bae. “It _must_ be.”  
Dumbledore considered him closely. “And what would you do about it?”  
“Well I, I thought maybe after he transforms back that I could go and get him and take him back to Hagrid’s. I could patch him up a bit, and, well,” Bae sighed. “I don’t want him to be by himself. He was really upset this morning when I found him.”  
Dumbledore blinked. “You went into the Shrieking Shack?”  
“I went through the passage in the Whomping Willow,” said Bae. “Twice, actually. Once last night after I saw Madam Pomfrey come back out alone, and once this morning.”  
“You went in to see Remus before he’d transformed?” Dumbledore was frowning now. “That was very dangerous, Baelfire.”  
“I didn’t know there was danger!” said Bae indignantly. “I didn’t know what he would turn into! I just wanted to make sure that-” he stopped, swallowed.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “Make sure of what?”  
Bae looked down. “Look, you lot seem like a good sort of wizards, but I’ve met bad ones too. I needed to know if Remus was alright.”  
“Ah,” said Dumbledore. “And what sort of bad wizards have you met?”  
“My father, for one,” said Bae quietly.  
“You said before that he abandoned you,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully.  
“Yes,” Bae looked away. “And he did it because of magic. Dark magic,” he looked up again and stared Dumbledore in the eye. “Magic destroyed my family once. I won’t let it happen again.”

There was a pause. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and folded his hands together on his desk, peering at Baelfire over his half-moon spectacles. “I think, Baelfire, that it would be wise if you told me your whole story, so that we can avoid any further misunderstandings.”  
Bae felt a jolt in his heart, but forced his voice not to shake and his expression to stay neutral. “My whole story?”  
“Yes,” said Dumbledore. “I have known there was something off about you since the moment I met you. You do not quite fit into the Wizarding World, though you are trying very hard to. Yet you know too much of magic to simply be a muggle. There are not many options after those two, so I am forced to draw my own conclusions, though I would rather know the truth.”  
Bae swallowed. “And what do you think I am, then?”  
“You would like to hear my theory?”  
“Yes.”  
“Very well. It is not spoken of much even in the Wizarding World, but there are some who believe travel to other worlds beyond our own is possible, and that there are wizards and witches and magical creatures living there who are like and yet unlike those in our own world. There has never been a great deal of evidence for this, except rumors. A wardrobe in an old house. A strangely behaving muggle television set. People crossing a certain bridge and never coming out the other side. All small things that are easily overshadowed and forgotten. But I believe, Baelfire, that you may be able to lay those rumors to rest, hm?”

Bae’s mouth had gone dry. All he could do was stare at the old wizard, hands gripping the armrests of the chair, heart beating too fast.

“Of course I didn’t want to mention my suspicions right away,” continued Dumbledore. “I was afraid I’d frighten you off. You would be safer and better understood here than amongst muggles. And there is your brother to consider… as for how you came to be here I can only assume it had to do with your father. Perhaps he tried a spell too advanced and paid the price, or perhaps it was intentional-”  
“It _was_ intentional,” said Bae, suddenly angry. “He let me go. He didn’t make the portal that led between our world and this one but he refused to come with me. He chose his power over me and let me go,” Bae looked away as hot tears sprang into his eyes. “He abandoned me.”  
Dumbledore nodded. “And that is when you met Sirius?”  
Bae sniffed and took a deep breath. “No. First I met another family. They weren’t magic, but they were- the children, they,” he squeezed his eyes shut, digging his nails into the palms of his hands. “There was a creature. It was a Shadow. It came every night to the children’s room and was going to take one away to trap them in Neverland forever. I let it take me instead. Neverland was ruled by a wizard as well, one who was very dark and very evil. He trapped boys there and never let them leave,” Bae opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. “I was there a long time before I escaped. That was when I found Sirius. The Shadow tried to take him away while it was looking for me and I protected him. Then he ran away with me. I think- I think the Shadow gave up, eventually. I haven’t seen it for about a year now.”

They were quiet for a long time after that. Finally, Dumbledore spoke again.

“I think it would be good for you to help Remus,” he said, calmly. “You’ve displayed more understanding and compassion for him in one night than most wizards will their whole lives.”  
Bae blinked. “You mean you’re letting me stay, even after all, all that?”  
“Of course,” Dumbledore shrugged. “I’ve already given you a job, haven’t I?”  
Bae opened his mouth. Closed it again. Nodded.  
“Good. Then starting next month you may retrieve Remus from the Shrieking Shack after the Full Moon has ended. The rest of the arrangements I shall leave to you and Madam Pomfrey.”

“Thank you, sir,” Bae managed.  
“Now, you’d best run along. I wouldn’t want to keep you from completing your responsibilities.”

Bae nodded again and stood, walking towards the door. Halfway back he stopped and turned back to the old wizard.

“There’s one more thing you should know, sir,” he said. “My father, he wasn’t always a wizard. He became one, by taking the magic from someone else. So I, I won’t, I won’t turn out like him, I mean. I don’t have magic- dark or light- and I never will.”  
Dumbledore nodded. “I expected as much. You do seem steadfastly on the side of good.”

Bae ducked his head as a warm feeling spread through his chest. “Thank you, sir.”

Then he turned and left, feeling as though maybe, for the first time in a very long time, he had found a place to belong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get a cookie if you can tell me what one of the "other magical lands" Dumbledore alludes to are. You get a whole tray of cookies if you can tell me what all three references are from.
> 
> Thank you for all your comments! It means a lot to know people are enjoying my odd little tale.

**Author's Note:**

> Well there you have it, I finally posted one of my crossovers. Let me know if you enjoyed!


End file.
